Tuesday’s events are designed to urge senators to reject a proposal that would outline the circumstances under which people with disabilities could be employed at less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, organizers say.

“Unequal pay for equal work on the basis of disability is unfair, discriminatory and immoral,” said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind.

The Senate committee is expected to consider the proposal covering so-called subminimum wage next week as part of a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

Members of TASH, the National Down Syndrome Society and other disability rights advocates have been speaking out against the proposal which, they say, “creates several loopholes that may put more youth at risk of being placed in sheltered workshops and earning below the minimum wage.” The guidelines are not really safeguards, but could end up giving sheltered employment providers a “checklist to meet in order to deem people with disabilities eligible for subminimum wage jobs.” The proposal could indeed have the result of increasing the number of those with disabilities employed in low paying environments.

However, some disability organizations including The Arc support the proposal, saying that the fact that it creates guidelines for a “system that currently has little oversight” is welcome.

The proposed legislation is not only in direction contradiction to the ADA, but also sends the message that individuals with disabilities are worth less in the workplace and, indeed, are simply worth less. Last month, Philip Davies, a Tory MP from Shipley in the UK made a similar proposal that disabled people be paid less than the minimum wage, to increase the likelihood of them getting a job. Employers, said Davies, could hire individuals with disabilities and then, after seeing if they might be as “productive as those without a disability,” consider moving “up the pay rates. ”

Davies’ remarks sparked a public outcry — “backward anti-disabled rhetoric,” wrote Lucy Glennon in the Guardian. A petition demanding an apology for disabled Britons has gotten over 17,000 signatures and got petition has also gotten the attention of Davies, who wrote to Care2 and demanded that the petition be taken down.

Here in the US, we also need to take action and tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that the proposal for a subminimum wage for workers with disabilities is discriminatory. As an ad the National Federation of the Blind ran in The Washington Post says,

“Unequal pay for equal work on the basis of disability is unfair, discriminatory and immoral.”

It’s hard to believe that, even as we’re celebrating the ADA, one of its core principles — that individuals with disabilities have the right to equal access and accommodations in all areas of the public and private sector — is being challenged and even threatened. Please take action and tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that the proposed legislation puts workers with disabilities in danger of being exploited and violates the rights of individuals with disabilities under the ADA.

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57 comments

The state of Maryland had offered to partly subsidize my earnings back in August 1999 when I began, but I believe the offer was rejected and that I was competitively hired (under conditions of labor scarcity)

Work is work! Why the hell should some workers get less for their work?! NO! What does disability have to do with your work? If you got the job your disability is not an issue for that situation. Saying some people deserve less pay is really saying some people are simply worth less! NO!

To quote Temple Grandin "different not less" you can understand that people with disabilities just want to be treated like anyone else they can be taught if we take the time to teach for anyone to under value them in sny way is an outrage we need to build them up not take advantage of them.

This is just another minor step towards a new form of slavery. WHO do you think came up with this idea? It was greedy businesses who want more and more profit. This not only affects the disabled but EVERYONE looking for work. WHO do you think the employer will hire, someone abled and expensive or someone disabled and cheap. You do the math.

Seriously people, if you want job opportunities, tell these corrupt companies that you will not support a business that looks to undermine fair labor practices with this and shipping jobs overseas to save costs.

People speak about how its only fair to pay kids with special needs less for needing more care and supervision, which makes perfect sense of course. However, I dont agree with you. Is it really impossible-financially-for them to be kind to those kids? They make millions if not billions of dollars annually, so are you telling me they cant afford to raise their wages a little bit? I know its businesses we are talking about here, so profit is all they care about, but its run by humans and not robots, so you'd expect them to understand that NOT everything we do in life has to benefit us or make us richer.

I can't imagine why anyone would think we deserve only part of the minimum wage for us to thrive on. What, are people afraid of us, don't want us to intrude on their minds or lives or just don't want any disabled people to exist? Living on minimum wage is hard enough for anyone and being paid less for being disabled does violate the ADA. Why on Earth do some legislators think we can get by on less than minimum wage when sometimes our costs are higher than what most able-bodied people squeak by on. We often need specialized equipment and aid that we could never afford on just minimum wage or our Social Security checks. I dare those legislators to live comfortably on my less than $800 monthly check.